Broke Through the Glass
by Ziposaki
Summary: Faye Wexler. Rich? Check. Pretty? Check. Morals? We'll get to that later. On the other hand, the Secundum Organization has a reputation of being almost unbearably goody-goody about everything. Faye's convinced they're not as saintly as people think, but she has bigger problems to deal with. After all, how's she supposed to become an amazing trainer when she keeps losing?
1. Chapter 1

"I still don't understand why I'm here."

The police officer glanced at the girl sitting across from him, who for the past ten minutes had been staring at him with her unnervingly violet eyes as he filled out paperwork regarding her arrest. "Well, landing a helicopter in the middle of Accumula Square, for starters. Not to mention flying a helicopter without a license."

"I didn't do that; the pilot did," she replied tersely, her arms folded across her chest. _I don't know why he thought landing there was a good idea, anyways._

"When we arrived on the scene, you were exiting the helicopter. Upon further investigation, there was nothing in the helicopter besides some crates. What else are we supposed to believe?" The girl scowled. _He probably ran out the back when he heard sirens and I wasn't paying attention._

"Now, I assume you have a trainer card, correct?" the police officer remarked, gesturing to the pokeball he had found in the girl's bag, which was among a multitude of items spread out in front of them on his desk. The girl plucked a thin card out of her bag and handed it to the officer.

"Be careful with it," the girl snapped as the officer closely examined the piece of plastic.

"Faye Wexler. You wouldn't happen to be associated with the owner of Mistralton Cargo Service, perhaps?" Faye nodded, smug at the mention of her father's multi-million poke corporation. _How else would I have gotten a trip in a helicopter? _

"Well, unfortunately for you, I don't think your father can bail you out of this," Her face fell. "Flying a helicopter at thirteen is dangerous business, young lady. You could have seriously injured yourself and others. I'd say an overnight stay in the jail would teach you a lesson or two."

"Can't I get a lawyer or something?" Faye argued.

"Perhaps, but you'd have to stay in jail for the duration of the court procedures. That would take, oh, a week or so," the officer replied. Faye sighed. The officer figured she had given up and turned his attention backed to the mound of paperwork on his desk. However Faye was still thinking of a solution. She'd have to try and maneuver her way out of this one. Carefully she glanced about, looking for openings. After a few seconds, she grinned. _Bingo._

"You wouldn't happen to have a sister named Teresa, would you? A medical student?" Faye questioned.

"Why?" he asked warily.

_Because you have a picture of her on your desk. _"I remember seeing a picture of her in the newspaper as one of the most promising medical students of the nation," she lied smoothly. "There's a lot of family resemblance."

"Yeah, Teresa's always been one of those studious types," he chuckled, his face softening.

"What's she studying?" Faye feigned curiosity, her head tilted slightly.

"Neuroscience," the police officer replied, gently laying his pen on his desk as he conversed with the girl.

"Oooh, that's seems really hard," Faye pretended to wince. "That's amazing that she managed to be recognized as one of the top."

"Yeah." the police officer grinned, before frowning ever so slightly. "She has mentioned she's been struggling a little. I think the difficulty is finally catching up with her."

Faye decided to move in for the kill. "I'm sure my father would be happy to donate money to her university in your name. That would surely help make her education much smoother."

The police officer scowled suddenly, standing and jerking Faye up as well. "Teresa would hate it if I pulled something so underhanded." Quickly he escorted her to a cell across the hall and roughly pushed her in. "I would, too," he added, before leaving. Faye hissed, slamming her fist against the wall.

_Damn it damn it damn it. _It was all the stupid police officer's fault. Couldn't he take a bribe like a normal person? She didn't have a lot of time. If only he hadn't thrown her in the cell, she could have come up with a different plan. Damn police officer.

Faye sighed, slumping against the cold stone wall. This was _not _how she planned her first day as a trainer to go. I mean really? _Don't get lost in thought, _Faye chastised herself, hopping to her feet. _You'll start to think about stupid things, and then important things, and that's just way too stressful. _Quickly Faye tried to distract herself by doing anything. However, her first plan of redoing the thin braid framing the right side of her face was dashed when the guard confiscated her bobby pin.

"Don't get any ideas," the guard had grunted over her protests, pocketing the thin piece of metal. "Wouldn't want you to try picking the lock or anything."

Faye was rather disappointed, as braiding was one of the things she was best at. Unlike gymnastics, which she had dropped out of after a traumatic competition at the age of five or so. The only thing she learned was how to somersault. They couldn't have taught her something more flashy, at least? She'd have to learn those by herself...

That thought process was what led to Faye's current position: on top of the edge of her thin mattress that was pressed against the wall, hands held over her head. The guard's eyebrows were narrowed as he watched Faye carefully, but he did nothing to stop her.

_Just lunge forward and kick your legs up. _Faye chanted mentally, staring down the gray wall that would hopefully prop her up as she tried to do a handstand. _This is the easy part. Its the form that's difficult._

Easy or not, Faye still managed to have trouble with it. Everything went smoothly as she lunged forward, getting a rather stable position as her hands pressed firmly against the ground. However, as she kicked her leg forward, it became very evident Faye had misjudged the distance. She barely scraped the wall with the empty tip of her shoe, leading her to tumble forward and crash into the wall. In hindsight, she probably should have taken off her shoes first.

_Shoot. _Faye rubbed her head irritatedly as it ached with pain. _Dumb wall, not being closer._

_I thought this would be easier. _Faye thought, pulling her legs towards her. She pondered that for a second before editing her statement. _I thought _everything _would be easier. _She sensed she was moving into complicated territory, but still she continued on her line of thought. _Why is pokemon training so hard? First day, and I haven't even done anything but gotten myself in trouble. Why did I want to do this anyways?_

Faye sat there for a few seconds, the answer weighing heavily in her mind. _To see if they would notice. In more ways than one._

Faye sat there for a little bit longer, before pushing the thoughts out of her head. They were too confusing, too complicated, too _unsettling_. Carefully she got to her feet and raised her hands over her head again. That handstand was going to happen on its own, after all.

-**oOo**-

"Oy, girlie!" a voice called, trying to rouse the barefooted, blonde-haired girl currently curled up on the bottom of her mattress, the head of which was oddly pressed up against the wall. "Come on, wake up! We've got another criminal who needs some jail time!"

The girl stirred slightly but refused to budge. The odor of sweat still lingered on her frame, and she looked exhausted. However, that was no excuse. Frustrated, the police officer grabbed his flashlight and shone it near the girl, trying to fake sunlight streaming in from invisible windows. That did the trick. She groaned as she sat up, stretching her arms.

"Faye, is it?" the officer grunted. Faye nodded at her name, raising her hand slightly as if she was in school. "You're free to go."

"Really? What time is it?" Faye perked up slightly. However, her eyelids still drooped a little.

"Ninr in the morning," the police officer replied, holding Faye's things out to her.

Faye moaned. "I'm up that late?" Quickly she shoved on her shoes, inspected her things to make sure everything was there, and then stumbling out of the police station into the street.

_Where am I? _Faye thought as she wandered aimlessly through the town, glancing at the wooden apartments that lined the stone tiled streets. _I should probably get a map or something._

"Excuse me," Faye questioned, tapping a random person on the shoulder. As he turned around, Faye quickly realized he was a businessman, judging by his crisp suit and the speaker in his ear. Perfect. "Do you know where I can find a map?"

The person just stared her oddly, like he was wondering why she would even talk to him, before returning back to reality. "Try the Pokemon Center," he snapped quickly, before hurrying away.

"What was his deal?" Faye asked annoyedly, before realizing she was in a wrinkled shirt and shorts and her hair was a mess from sleeping on the floor. She looked like those poor trainers who camped on the ground instead of in a tent. Not to forget the evident stench of sweat that was residue of her desire to do a handstand, which was amplified by the fact she hadn't showered. "Oh."

At least he gave some decent advice, Faye looked for the distinctive red-roofed building. Up on cliff and surrounded by short, squat houses, it was easy to spot. Faye strolled towards the building, feeling cheery. At last she was making progress.

Faye's enthusiasm quickly fled, however, as she realized just how _far _the Pokemon Center was from her current location. It had been ten minutes since she had spotted the building, yet still she seemed no closer to it. Despite the fact she could see the building on the horizon, being up on a cliff on the other side of town made getting there quite a challenge. She had to walk there, as Accumula, along with many other small towns, was too small for vehicles. The summer sun beat down on her harshly, even in the morning.

_Head high, girlie. _Faye chanted mentally. _Don't look like one of those poor trainers that stupid businessman took you for. _However, her sluggish steps and disheveled appearance betrayed her attitude. When she finally arrived, she had to resist falling to her knees and thanking Arceus for the air conditioning. _How are you going to make it through Unova on your own if you can't even make it through a tiny town?_ Instead, she tried to act calm as stepped up towards the counter near Nurse Joy.

"Excuse me," Faye asked politely, deciding it was the best strategy. "Do you happen to have a map I could have?"

Nurse Joy blinked, before answering, "Oh, I'm sorry! We only have the map up on the wall." She pointed left of her, displaying a large, full color map of Unova from above. Faye tried not to groan with disappointment, instead keeping her calm attitude.

"Oh, that's too bad," Faye replied, letting only a hint of disappointment seep into her voice.

Nurse Joy stared at her curiously. "You are a trainer from Nuvema, aren't you?"

Faye shook her head. "I'm heading there, actually."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Nurse Joy gasped apologetically. "I just assumed, considering your … appearance."

_A fair assumption, _Faye conceded. New trainers, unprepared, often received a starter pokemon from Professor Juniper after a sob-filled goodbye dinner and set off to Accumula. They usually misgauged the distance and ended up sleeping on the floor without a tent when night approached much faster than expected, resulting a similarly unkempt look.

"Well, if you're heading to Accumula," Nurse Joy continued, "You can probably ask Professor Juniper for one."

Faye brightened. "Really? Thanks for the information!" she replied cheerily, before internally wincing at how fake she sounded. _You could at least make an _effort _to be convincing, me. _Thankfully, Nurse Joy didn't seem to notice as she quickly barreled on to cover her odd tone. "Could you tell me how to get to Nuvema from here then, please?"

"Oh it's simple!" Nurse Joy chirped cheerfully. "If you head south from here, you'll run straight into Route 1. From there, just follow the path. You should reach Nuvema in an hour and a half, at most. Two hours if you're really unlucky with pokemon battles."

"Pokemon battles?" Faye tilted her head. "Is there anyway to prevent them?" Quickly realizing how dumb she sounded, she whipped up a lie. "My uncle is expecting me in-" she glanced at the clock to drive home her point. "an hour, and I wouldn't want to be late just because I ran into a lot of wild pokemon."

Nurse Joy paused thoughtfully, "Well, you could buy some repels, but they're sort of expensive."

_Piece of cake_, Faye thought smugly, while nodding."Okay, thanks," she replied, trying to sound more sincere. Easily she turned on her heel and walked towards the Pokemon Mart store counter. Unlike in other regions, Unova had the Pokemon Center and Mart combined as a convenience to trainers.

_Pokemon battles_, she thought carefully as she stepped towards the miniature store. _Don't want to be bogged down by those, especially when I don't know my pokemon's moves. Not like I'll admit that._

"Excuse me," Faye questioned the clerk manning the store. "May I buy twenty-five repels?"

-**oOo**-

Faye tried to hum as she strolled along Route 1, before deciding it was dumb. Maximum repels weighed down her bag. The clerk had convinced her they were just as effective as her first request and much easier to carry.

_How far is Nuvema, anyways? _Faye wondered, regretting her decision of not buying a bike, or at least a Poketch so she could tell what time it was.

Quickly glancing up, the sun was shining just about above her head, and her shadow was a dark puddle around her feet. She had been walking for about an hour now, she estimated, as she had set off at about 11, having grabbed a quick breakfast before leaving the Pokemon Center.

Eventually, Faye started to think she was very far from the small hamlet and was never going to make it. At about that moment, Faye spotted a thin path leading in front of her towards a clearing in the trees. _Goddammit, universe. Stop proving me wrong. _

As Faye carefully followed the path, the town quickly opened up in front of her, as small as it was. Consisting only of houses scattered here and there, it was pretty uneventful. It didn't even have a Pokemon Center, for goodness sakes. The only things that were remotely interesting was that it bordered the ocean, evident by the slightly salty breeze tickling her nose. However, it was too elevated to be of use as a tourist beach or at least a harbor, and of course, what Faye was here for: the renowned Professor Juniper's lab.

After quickly asking a local (who was much nicer than that dumb businessman, thank you very much) to direct her to laboratory, Faye soon arrived in front of the wooden building. On the outside, it looked deceptively like the houses in Nuvema, although slightly bigger and with glass doors. Easily, she knocked on the doors, and after not getting a response, stepped inside.

"Hello?" Faye's voice echoed into the spacious, empty room. "Is Professor Juniper here?" After a few seconds, a brunette popped out from behind a stack of papers.

"Yes, hello?" the woman, who Faye presumed was the professor responded. "Oh, sorry. My assistant isn't here today and she's not exactly the most organized person, so I'm trying to sort through this stack of papers." Straightening, the professor asked, "So what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering whether I could purchase a Pokedex," Faye replied tersely but brightly, hoping to appear cheery. Professor Juniper's eyebrows raised.

"A Pokedex, hm? Well, they're sort of expensive..." she trailed off, before explaining. "They're still being developed, so most are one of a kind." Faye brushed the remark off with an airy shrug.

The professor looked curious, realizing Faye must be rich. Most wealthy trainers didn't go out of the way to purchase a Pokedex, claiming they were good enough not to need one, so she rarely got any real buyers. She watched as Faye easily reached into her bag and pulled out a wallet. Deftly she plucked out a wad of bills and handed to the professor, almost emptying it of pure cash, though a multitude of credit and debit cards still remained. The professor nodded, quickly leafing through the stack. Amazingly, she had gotten the price correct, probably having looked it up online previously. Professor Juniper reached into a nearby box. After digging through it a little, she retrieved a bright red object and handed it to Faye.

"The Pokedex isn't quite complete, but it's only missing data on legendary pokemon," Professor Juniper told the violet-eyed girl who was curiously turning the Pokedex over in her hands. "If you happened to encounter them, the Pokedex would record it and send it to me. That would be a great help, actually, but I doubt it's possible."

Faye wasn't quite listening as the professor talked, instead inspecting the device. It looked similar to those ancient music devices her "high-tech" friends used, with a screen at the top and a spinning wheel and a few buttons at the bottom. Carefully she pressed what looked like the power button, and the machine hummed to life.

"BEEP. THIS IS THE POKEDEX," the machine said dully but loudly as it flickered to life, causing Faye to squeal at the almost ear-splitting noise. She quickly mashed the power button again, sighing in relief as the screen faded to black.

"Where's the volume control for that thing?!" Faye yelped loudly, before remembering she was trying to act cheerily polite. "Sorry. It startled me."

Professor Juniper remarked sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, "Well, this _is _a prototype, so... it doesn't actually ... have ... one?"

"I'm going to have to listen to that thing every time I scan a pokemon?" Faye asked. When the professor nodded her head, she moaned internally. _Gonna have to find a way to shut it up..._

"Well," Faye continued, recalling Nurse Joy's words, "Do you have a map of Unova I can have?"

The professor looked thoughtful. "Maybe," she replied, rifling through a different stack of papers, before shaking her head. "No, I'm sorry, I normally only have them to give to new trainers." However, instead of refocusing on Faye, she continued to look through the different reports and notes and other things. She quickly sat down, murmuring to herself where this and that should go.

"Oh," Faye remarked. "That's okay then." _I should probably leave, her attention's wandering a little._Quickly she slipped out of the building before running into a boy, who couldn't be more than eleven.

"My bad," she apologized quickly, before trying to move on to try and buy some food. However the boy sidestepped and blocked her path. "What?" Faye asked, more annoyed this time, before realizing his gaze was fixed firmly on the Pokedex in her hands.

"I wanted that Pokedex so badly," he growled, the action comical paired with his short, stature and childish figure. "How come you can just waltz in and get it?"

"Uhm, I bought it?" Faye replied flippantly, trying to act haughty to intimidate the boy. It didn't work.

"Yeah? Well I bet you don't even know how to battle!" the boy replied angrily, reaching towards a lone pokeball on his belt.

"Is that a challenge?" Faye tilted her head nonchalantly. On the inside, however, her blood boiled. _Stupid kid. He's not better than me. _The boy nodded fiercely.

"Well then," Faye replied, trying to withhold her dread and excitement at her first battle. She reached into her bag and pulled out her sole pokeball. "Let's do this."

* * *

**Welcome to my first (overly long) pokemon story, as well as my first pokemon journey story! I am super excited to get this started. Please review; CC is greatly welcome and appreciated! **


	2. Chapter 2

"So, _kid_," Faye emphasized, causing the boy to scowl further. "Send your pokemon out." Her hand was haughtily placed on her hip, and she tried to make her attitude match.

"Why don't you, _girl_?" the boy hissed in reply, his fingers clenched around his pokeball.

Faye rolled her eyes. "It's not like it'll make a difference. We both only have one pokemon." She paused, before adding "It's Faye, by the way."

The boy compromised surprisingly well for someone who looked like he was about to scream. "Let's just send out our pokemon at the same time, then."

Faye shrugged. "Fair enough," she acknowledged, finally producing her pokemon from her bag. "Now then: three ... two ... one … go!"

They both skipped the classic introduction of their pokemon in favor of throwing the pokeball with all their might. In a flash of red light, two pokemon appeared. One was a reptilian looking Grass-type that tried to look menacing. The effect sort of worked when compared to its opponent: an adorable looking Ice-type bear half its size with snot dripping from its nose.

The boy wasted no time. "Now, Superior, use-" he yelled, before stopping in his tracks when Faye raised a halting hand, in the back of her mind thinking, _Who nicknames a Snivy Superior?_

"I'm going to give you some help here," Faye declared, dancing around the fact she could really use the help too. Easily she grabbed her Pokedex out of her bag. The boy fixed his gaze on it quickly, eyes narrowed.

"Now then, plug your ears," Faye told the boy matter-of-factly, trying not to wince at the upcoming pain. The boy just sort of stared at her, stunned. This mistake was costly, however, as Faye reluctantly pressed the on button.

"BEEP. THIS IS THE POKEDEX**,**" the machine dictated, the sound booming. The boy yelped and covered his ears. Faye held it as far away from her body as possible, dropping all pretenses of acting cool and pressing her forearms against her ears to block out the noise. "PLEASE SCAN A POKEMON OR CLICK 'LIST OF POKEMON' TO PROCEED."

Slowly Faye followed his instructions, trying to prolong the time between the pain. She carefully trained the screen on her pokemon, which just obliviously prodded at its snot bubble. Her opponent's pokemon just looked confused. Neither seemed particularly affected by the noise.

_Is the snot bubble part of its body or something? _Faye thought absently, trying to ignore the booming voice of all but the key information. It didn't really work though as the machine continued to pierce her eardrums.

"CUBCHOO. THE CHILL POKEMON. MALE," the machine declared flatly. _Oh. _His _body. My bad. _Faye thought, glancing over at her opponent to see how he was faring. His eyelids were pressed together in pain, but by the way he was leaning forward ever so slightly Faye assumed he was listening for key information. "SNOW CLOAK. POWDER SNOW."

Faye waited for a few seconds for the machine to continue, but no sound came. _That's it? Cubchoo's only got one move? _Faye angrily thought. Carelessly she moved to shove the Pokedex back into her bag, accidentally swiping it over the Snivy in the process.

"SNIVY. THE GRASS SNA-" That was as far as the Pokedex got before Faye hastily pressed the power button and threw it into her bag for real. Both trainers took a few seconds to collect themselves, trying to give their head to stop hurting from the ear-splitting volume. The boy was the first one to speak up.

"Maybe I _don't _want a Pokedex," the boy murmured quietly. Faye couldn't blame him, but she wasn't exactly going to say that. Carefully she regained her old, confident posture.

Faye taunted, "Well, I gave you some help. Now, you ready?" The boy stared at her like she was crazy. "Just checking." Finally, their battle actually began.

This time, Faye reacted first. "Cubchoo, Powder Snow!" _At least I have a type advantage. _ Cubchoo inhaled deeply, drawing his snot up his nose. A moment later, he exhaled sparkling blue powder. Superior and its trainer seemed taken by surprise as the Snivy was blasted by the freezing cold air.

The boy looked like he was going to complain about being taken off guard, but he changed his mind. "Superior, Vine Whip!" the boy yelled. Two vines emerged from beneath Superior's collar, crossing to form an X shape.

"Cubchoo, try to freeze those vines with Powder Snow!" Faye praised herself for her ingenuity, but her elation faded as the icy snow breath failed to hinder the vines, which continued to snake their way across the battlefield to smack the Ice-type, which was momentarily distracted by his pain. It hadn't done a lot of damage, but Cubchoo was clearly weaker and inexperienced.

"Now, Superior, Tackle it when its stunned!" the boy declared triumphantly. In the commotion of trying to stop the vines, Faye hadn't been paying attention to Superior, who had been running up behind them. The Snivy lunged towards the Cubchoo, knocking it to the ground.

"Cubchoo, try and Powder Snow it before it moves!" Faye cried desperately, but she was too slow. Superior had already retreated, and the Powder Snow made contact but did less damage than the close combat attack she had hoped for. _Dang. The boy's smarter than I thought he would be. Better change tactics._

Abandoning her poorly cobbled together strategy of "just-react", Faye closed her eyes and began to breathe. Her opponent just stared at her curiously, before trying to take the advantage and ordered a Tackle. Her quick-witted Cubchoo dodged, not looking overly concerned with his trainer's behavior, but not taking the offensive as well. Meanwhile, Faye was lost in a swirl of battles between elite trainers.. A Darmanitan snarling at a Hydreigon. A Lilligant staring down a Klinklang. Her mind raced as she compared all of them at once, her breathing become more rapid as well. Quickly she reached the conclusion she had reached a million times before when she had watched the battles upon preparing to become a trainer. All of the trainers had something in common, a thread that connected them to one another. Belief in their pokemon.

Faye channeled the belief into her core, reshaping her personality, her posture, her entire being. Her hands curled into a megaphone to help her emphasize her thoughts. She gained a newfound respect for her Cubchoo, who had turned into a sort of hero in her eyes. She stood up straight, the casual tilt of her hips disappearing. Everything was to fit the belief in her pokemon, the belief she hoped would help her win like it had so many others. Another second passed, before Faye snapped her eyes open. _Let's do this._

"Cubchoo, Powder Snow!" Faye screamed. Cubchoo seemed a bit shocked at the power of his trainer's voice, but summoned the powder almost instantly. To Faye's delight, it seemed a bit more powerful. Even more, the boy seemed too stunned to react as his Snivy was blasted with the freezing air, his confident grin melting away. The situation came together in Faye's mind easily. Her opponent had clearly assumed by Faye's closed eyes that she had given up and her Cubchoo was just running for dear life. _Instead, he got a nasty surprise_, Faye thought smugly.

However, the lad didn't waste times trying to turn it around. "Superior, Leer!" Instantly the Grass-type adopted an intimidating glare, staring down the Cubchoo. Cubchoo recoiled, his guard plummeting as he curled into a ball. "Follow up with a Vine Whip!"

Faye didn't hesitate in embracing her new self. "C'mon, Cubchoo! You've got this! Push those vines back with Powder Snow!" Faye's words at least somewhat helped as Cubchoo reluctantly extracted himself from his curled position. However, he wasn't fast enough as Cubchoo was smacked by Snivy's vines before unleashing an ice blast. The Ice-type fell back to the ground, stunned.

"Tackle!" the boy yelled. The command was almost unnecessary, as Snivy had already been charging at its dazed opponent. By the time Cubchoo managed to stumble back up, Snivy had already retreated to the other side, its vines poised to lunge out. Faye held her ground.

"You can turn this around, Cubchoo! I believe in you!" she screeched, her voice cracking. Much to Faye's disappointment and anger, this didn't help nearly as much as she had hoped it would. Her constant shouts of her belief and variations of the sort didn't help Cubchoo prevent the onslaught of Vine Whips and the inevitably following Tackle. The boy hadn't changed strategies, and why should he? In a matter of minutes her situation went from bad to worse. She had done an okay amount of damage to Superior, but Cubchoo looked like he was going to collapse at any moment, and both trainers knew it.

"Superior, let's finish this up! Vine Whip!" the boy declared, Faye's arrogance seemingly transferred to him, judging by his cocky smirk. Superior raced forward, beginning the process all over again.

Faye yelled, "Powder Snow, Cubchoo! Freeze those vines! You can do it!" Her pose was tense, and her slumped back betrayed her lack of confidence in the situation. Her facade of unyielding belief in her pokemon's abilities was fading fast, as if it had really existed in the first place. But somehow, a miracle occurred.

Cubchoo sucked up his mucus, farther than it had until only a tiny drop showed. He quickly released the most powerful snow drift he had so far, so cold Faye found herself wishing for a jacket. The snowy wind pressed against the vines, each battling for dominance before the wind surged forward and swirled against them, successfully freezing them. Faye's heart lifted, but not for long.

Although unsteady, Superior still managed to hold a rough control over the vines. They were slow in their progress, it didn't matter. Cubchoo was exhausted after that ultra-strong Powder Snow, which even worked against him in some ways. The extra weight from the ice gave the vines an extra punch, and after being hit by a vine the Tackle was unnecessary. Cubchoo buckled under the force and fell to the ground.

Faye was numb on the inside, and her face betrayed more than a hint of emotion. _I lost. I lost. _The words echoed in her head, over and over and over, causing her head to throb in pain more than the Pokedex had.

The boy, on the other hand, didn't hide his joy. "Superior, we did it!" he cheered, dancing in place. Superior just looked smug. Faye watched him dance childishly. _What does he have that I don't? Why did he beat me? _Faye couldn't answer those questions, but she could try and figure out.

"Good job," Faye declared, her face a serene contradiction to the upset mess it was moments earlier.

The boy turned to her, before cutting to the point, "Thanks. You too. Where's my prize money?"

Faye grinned. She could appreciate the bluntness, at least. "Half of my ready cash, right?" At the boy's eager nod, his eyes dancing with greediness, Faye set her plan into action. "Okay then." Carefully she dove into her bag trying to act nonchalant. After digging for a while, dragging the experience out, she emerged with a handful of change. "Uh, half... Here! 130 Poke, all yours." The boy's face fell. Faye's Pokedex purchase had proved her to be rich, and he had been hoping for a greater reward.

"What's up with that?" the boy demanded, recomposing himself, trying to see if Faye was cheating him.

Faye shrugged and replied, "When you live in a world of millions, credit cards are your best friend. Ready cash is for suckers." To push her point, she displayed the contents of her bag to the boy. True to her words, there was nothing monetary besides some sheets of plastic and some more change.

The boy grumbled and turned away. Faye leapt for the chance. "Where are you heading to next?"

"Accumula and onto Striaton, where else is there to go?" the boy replied, his voice drifting away as he walked further. Faye jogged to catch up with him.

"Well, if you want, you can travel with me," Faye offered. The boy tried not to look fazed by the idea, but slowed down nonetheless. Faye barrelled on. "Staying with me would probably be better than the Pokemon Center. And travelling would probably be much more interesting with a companion. And I need to pay you back more for winning that battle." The boy didn't miss the double meaning in the last sentence.

"How long would we be travelling together?" he inquired carefully.

Faye pondered over it. "How long do you want? I'd say at least until the first gym, so Striaton."

"Until Nacrene," the boy decided finally. "That's where my family lives, and they can help me decide what to do further." Faye held her condescending tongue that was dying to make fun of him for trusting his family.

"Deal." Faye nodded. Now that she thought about it, a travelling companion would be much more interesting than travelling alone. And she could try and figure out how to beat him and polish up her battle strategy. _And it would garner more attention. _Carefully they grasped each other's hands and shook on it.

"Now," Faye broke the obligatory silence that was them contemplating their decision. "What's your name, anyways?" The boy was taken aback, shocked he hadn't introduced himself.

"Nikolas, but you can call me Kol." the boy struggled for an appropriate facial expression before settling on a smirk.

"Well then, _Nikolas_, are you prepared?" Faye asked after the customary eye-roll, at the attempt of coolness. Nikolas didn't look too annoyed; Faye figured not too many people called him Kol anyways.

"Yeah, but are we going back through Route 1? Didn't you just come here?" retorted Nikolas. Faye nodded twice. "Well, why don't we just stick around here for awhile?"

Faye shrugged. "What is there to do in this dinky little town? We might as well get moving as fast as possible."

Nikolas snapped back, "Bond with our pokemon for a while, something _you_ clearly need to do."

"The best way to connect with your pokemon is through experience," Faye answered, ignoring the slight jab. Figuring the best way to get him to move was by doing, she turned towards Route 1 and started to march back the way she came without waiting for an answer. Before she got too far, Faye called over her shoulder, "I'm going to leave without you."

"_You_ were the one who wanted me to travel with you in the first place," Nikolas screamed back, stubbornly staying put.

"_You_ were the one who wanted compensation for the battle," Faye's voice drifted back airily. "Guess I'll just enjoy five-star hotels and luxury restaurants by myself..."

Nikolas growled, then raced after and then ahead of her. "I'm going to lead the way, at least," he declared.

_What a pushy kid. _Faye thought, but let him do as he pleased. She couldn't be bothered to put in the effort to catch up with him, and one victory of manipulation was good enough for her for now. And besides, it was kind of funny watching him look so proud.

* * *

**Note: In my mind, 100 Poke equals about $1 (US). **

**Anyways, welcome to my second chapter! I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do this, as I am very prone to giving up on chapters after the first. This chapter was only possible because of my friends Mai and Puff, who encouraged me and helped beta this chapter. In fact, the reason it was posted today was because it is Puff's birthday!**

**Now, this chapter is a bit short, but honestly I expect most of my chapters to be this way. I like to write shorter chapters with more frequent updates (ohhh that's going to bite me later), but I am trying to improve the length.**

**Anyways, please give me some concrit and advice; I really appreciate it. Thank you guys so much for reading, you're awesome!**


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